Compass Box: This is Not a Luxury Whisky (Scottish Blended Whisky: 53.1% ABV)
Visual: Deep gold with fast, thick streaks from the spirit.
Nose: Toffee apple. Noticeable alcohol but not burning considering the abv. Light chalk. Crushed medical tablets. Light tart grapes. Water makes smoother. Apple crumble. Honey. More water adds what feels like a smoothed out tequila note.
Body: Toffee apple. Raspberries in brandy cream. Caramel. Warming alcohol presence. Plums. Crushed paracetamol. Quite thick feel but smooth. Water makes for more toffee. Fudge. Lightly chalky. Shortbread. More water makes lemon fresh.
Finish: Brandy cream. Toffee apples. Rum air. Crushed paracetamol. Tingling. Lightly waxy. Water adds raspberry liqueur. Slightly dry and slight brown bread. Rye crackers.
Conclusion: Ok this is very smooth considering the high abv, you definitely have it showing some polished whiskies in there (Note: During writing this up to put online I looked at what was in it and oh yes there is – see the background for more info)
Initially I was struck by the balance between a sweet toffee apple aroma and a contrasting chalk to crushed paracetamol kind of restraint. It may not sound nice when said like that but the balance between the two side really managed to show things off to their best, sweet, yet not overwhelming.
This follows through in the entirety of the whisky, through body and finish – showing a huge range of sweet notes. You get lots of fruit, from darker plums, through raspberry into more sweet apple, all soaked in brandy cream and rum. In a way it feels like a whisky take on the worlds oddest trifle – yet always marked against that dry, crushed medicine pills restraint.
When you reach the end in the finish it still has a huge range of flavor but also a waxiness that helps the flavours grip for a very long time. Often I find very old whisky can feel a tad light, but that slightly waxy grip means that is not a problem here (Also probably helps that its has such young whisky as **gasp** 19 years to help give it more weight).
Water helps even more, generally it just rounds everything out a little, but after a while a fresh lemon comes out which just revitalises the whole thing.
Overall this “Not a Luxury Whisky” is indeed a great whisky and very impressive.
Background: So, I spotted this at The Dark Horse a while back and kept meaning to try it and do notes on it. Finally poked my head in after seeing a play at the local theater and got down to work. This is not a cheap dram there, but considering you can find 5cl bottles being flipped for about 100 quid online they have it very reasonably priced for what it is. Original 70cl bottles went for about 150 pounds but there were only 4,992 bottles so it was a treat to get to try it. Basically the bottle is deliberately simple, against the fancy whisky inside – by which I mean 19 Year old Glen Ord, 30 Year Old Caol Ila – then 40 Year Old Girvan and Strathclyde on the grain side. When I tried it I thought it was a vatted malt, but nope, full on blended whisky – another thing challenging expectations as some people look down on anything with grain whisky in it. Dark Horse is a place I keep meaning to hit more often , great place with really friendly staff.
